The USA Patriot Act requires credit unions to take extra security precautions to help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities.
Section 326 of the Act requires the creation of reasonable procedures to:
- Verify the identity of any person seeking to open an account/establish any relationship with the credit union, to the extent reasonable and practical;
- Maintain records of the information used to verify the person’s identity, including name, address, and other identifying information; and
- Determine whether the person appears on any list of known or suspected terrorist organizations provided to the financial institution by any government agency.
